Washington, you have 30 days to show we can work together before going back into a defensive posture. On Sunday, NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Howard Schultz, CEO and chairman of Starbucks said, “If we don’t get that in the next 30 days, the business community is going to do what they’ve done for the last 10 years; dismiss Washington…” How realistic is that?
Schultz hit on the conscious capitalism theme of businesses, focusing on more than the bottom line...how likely would that happen? I really think it is a terrible mistake to try to make corporate balance sheets and income statements part of the public domain. I understand the hip CEO talk of the moment, but it could be a cover for coming up short in the future.
However, I would like to see action in the first 30 days, instead of that lame duck rationale for not moving ahead. The will of the people spoke loudly and clearly last Tuesday. I do not think people or businesses are going to take the kind of action, including risks to spark the economy, if there is a bunch of wasted time and excuses.
Not Taking the Bait
For the month of September, American consumers have only increased revolving credit (mostly credit cards) by $1.4 billion; and year-to-date, $24.1 billion. How can Main Street start moving when the number is that low? Lower rates are not encouraging people to run and acquire mortgages, or run to the malls the way it was supposed to on paper. It can only come from greater confidence in the system, with the head of that system being Washington, DC.
| Consumer Credit | Revolving | Non-Revolving |
| September | $1.4 billion | $14.5 billion |
| Year to Date | $24.1 billion | $145.0 billion |
